Thinking of Southeast Asia as an Open Region

Area studies is an act of deepening one's understanding of a specific region where others live. Ideally, understanding the other requires starting with language acquisition, learning about dietary habits, culture, customs, and political, social, and economic systems, and then honing one's imagination regarding the other's way of thinking. Needless to say, understanding the other cannot be achieved overnight; it requires settling in and facing the other (and oneself) patiently. While it takes time to realize the ideal of mastering area studies, I hope to provide students with as many opportunities as possible to understand the other through my classes.

The subject I teach is Modern Southeast Asian Studies. The Southeast Asian region consists of 11 nation-states. However, Southeast Asia is not closed within those 11 countries; it is an open region with close relationships with other regions, nations, and people. Some people live their lives without being conscious of their belonging to a nation-state. Southeast Asia, with its long and dramatic history of human migration, is full of charms that cannot be understood through simple means. In my lectures, I attempt to understand Southeast Asia from multiple perspectives: as a spatial region, a temporal region, and as a physical reality. Through this, I provide an opportunity to think about the trajectory and future of Southeast Asia as an open region.

In the Special Research seminars, which are conducted in a small-group format, I work with students to explore ways of understanding the other through literature on the Southeast Asian region. The course uses English-language literature as its primary source and is conducted in English. By unpacking and critically reading bodies of knowledge regarding history, politics, society, and culture written in English, students form their own questions and understanding of Southeast Asia. Thinking in English is also a process of liberating oneself from a Japanese-centric understanding. English is a tool that opens the path to a common understanding with others and allows one to see oneself in relative terms. I believe that Southeast Asian area studies through English is a task that holds such potential.